


Flowers That Grow in Dark Places

by inkedroses



Series: Eccedentesiast [2]
Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Elf Jaskier | Dandelion, Feral Jaskier | Dandelion, Gen, Jaskier and Yennefer are buddies, Jaskier | Dandelion & Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg Friendship, No Geralt and Jaskier accidentally become parents, Non-Human Jaskier | Dandelion, POV Alternating, Yennefer and Jaskier accidentally become parents, but instead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:42:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22608736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkedroses/pseuds/inkedroses
Summary: Jaskier runs into Yennefer, who realizes a few things.
Series: Eccedentesiast [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1623829
Comments: 27
Kudos: 391





	1. Assassins?

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: I haven't read the books and therefore don't know anything about Elven magic other than what I read on the wiki page. 
> 
> Thank you, continue reading.

One thing you need to know about Jaskier is that he is not one for confrontation. Call it a… skill he learned during the Great Cleansing; choose to be passive and not aggressive. The only reason he ever broke this rule was when someone insulted Geralt for nothing besides simply existing because he knew how it felt for someone to sneer at you for something that can’t be helped. So, the same night Geralt yelled at him, he didn’t go back and prove him wrong. He needed some time to at least lick his wounds and maybe compile a list of times he was actually helpful… as a way to prove him wrong. 

However, he never did go back. Jaskier left that night and never saw Geralt again. He still sang, he still wondered through countless forests, and he still praised the witcher’s name. But he never saw nor heard anything about him. 

On bad nights he would feel that worry twist into a terrifying sticky anxiety, leaving Jaskier unable to eat or perform, wondering if Geralt was indeed still alive. He was one of the greatest fighters Jaskier had ever seen but not even witchers were invincible. Those nights, he clung to his memories with Geralt and hoped that he would feel it if the man did die—hoped their connection would still be strong enough for that. 

On the good nights, Geralt was a fuel for his songs, happy and sad, ballads of love and death. His audience always seemed to tip better when there was real emotion behind whatever he was singing. 

Though Jaskier had tried to keep her out of his mind, his thoughts occasionally drifted to Yennefer. He wondered how she and Geralt were faring after he left. Perhaps they were still traveling together, banging like rabbits after each job. Was he still as enthralled with her? Or did their romance fade into simply sexual attraction—an outlet for frustrations that humans could not fulfill? 

This was one of those times that his mind wandered, as he strolled along the pathway carved out by those who walked there before him. The birds were chirping to the sorrowful tune he was strumming on his lute, the rustle of the leaves providing a nice shake. 

And then they stopped. The birds flew away, the leaves floated to the ground, quivering in fear. He stopped, swung his lute onto his back, and prepared himself for something. He didn’t know what, but he could feel it. The air thickened, the Chaos shifted, and he knew something big was coming. Something was changing. The same way he’d felt it at Pavetta’s engagement party in Cintra, how he felt it right before the Djinn grasped his throat… and the way he’d felt it before he walked up to Geralt, still being so young and naive that he believed that his destiny would just fall into his hands right there. 

Speaking of falling, it’s what Jaskier was currently doing. Onto the ground with his lute digging uncomfortably into his back and Yennefer lying on top of him, looking just about as excited to see him as he was her. 

And he finally understood why Geralt hated destiny so much.

The woman growled and pushed herself up off of him, making Jaskier groan as she pushed him further into his lute. She glanced wearily behind them, Jaskier following her gaze and seeing another portal open and three men dressed in black stepping out. He scrambled to his feet, stepping behind Yennefer. She turned and conjured a portal ahead of them, running towards it. Jaskier followed her, not wanting to be stuck behind with those three men. 

They landed out on a familiar place to Jaskier, by the ocean. He’d recognized it instantly despite the condition it was now in, ruins surrounding them, stone and metal littered on the ground. Jaskier turned his head to Yennefer, seeing her scanning the place, presumably for a hiding place. She looked exhausted, hair tangled, eyes drooping. He sighed, knowing that he should help her even if he didn’t like her. Afterall, he was stuck with her now if she couldn’t portal them out of there. 

“You shouldn’t have followed me,” she spoke. “They’ll be able to trace me soon.” 

“Well, now you need to follow me now if you want to see tomorrow,” Jaskier told her, making his way to the edge of the cliff. 

Yennefer cast a wary glance over her shoulder, deciding that she had no other choice and joined him at the cliff. 

“What now?” 

“We jump,” Jaskier said, leaping off of the edge with no hesitation, survival instincts taking over. 

Yennefer heard the portal open behind her, and, having no choice, jumped after him, crashing into the dark water, kicking to stay under. They didn't know she was alive, they’d most likely assume she’d died by jumping if they didn’t see her head. 

The water was dark and murky, her vision limited to the small white specks floating in front of her. She felt a hand gently grasp her wrist, pulling her deeper into the water. Yennefer kicked after him and her field of vision was more illuminated how, a glow coming from in front of her. They got closer to a rock and she saw Jaskier bang his fist against it, growling. He moved to one side, trying to move it out of the way. Yennefer, for her own safety, of course, not because she cared about the bard who was making her more suspicious every second, went to the other side, bracing herself against the wall and trying to push it out. It came out with a pop, falling to the sea floor. The water flooding into the cave sucked them in with it. 

Jaskier washed onto the shore, coughing from lack of air, rolling onto his back and inhaling deeply. Yennefer rolled up beside him, repeating his actions. They sat there, panting. Jaskier couldn’t help the grin that broke out on his face. The adrenaline of jumping off of the cliff had gotten to him. He hadn’t felt that in so long and it was addicting. He had always stayed out of the way on jobs with Geralt because he needed to keep the cover that he was a bard, (though, if it came to it, he would have defended the witcher) but wow did he miss this! He recalled that he hadn’t felt that way in literal decades and laughed. 

“What?” Yennefer breathed. “Something about assassin’s funny to you?” 

Jaskier shook his head. “Nothing, nothing,” he swallowed, standing up. “Why were they after you anyways?” 

“Seems as though someone finally spilled who was protecting Queen Kalis when she and her baby died,” Yennefer admitted. “Her family were always hardasses who held a grudge. I don’t even know how they managed to track me…” she trailed off, observing the cave. 

She realized that the glow she saw in the water was coming from there. Huge patches of blue, illuminous flowers lined the dirt path and walls, flowing even when there was no draft. The place felt ancient. Yennefer didn’t know how Jaskier knew of such a place. It must have been blocked off during the Great Cleansing judging from the ruins outside. It screamed elf: very luxurious and magical. 

Her brow frowned. 

“Very luxurious” described Jaskier’s taste for the finer things in life. If it was right under the palace, it probably led into the palace, meaning that no one besides those trusted in the royal household would have knowledge of it. No one now would know of the cave anyways because they’d all be dead. If they were human, that is. 

Yennefer tilted her head slightly, considering the idea. It made sense. She’d known Jaskier for at least a decade and at most nearly two. He hadn’t aged a day, she realized now that she was thinking of it. So Jaskier was… 

“An elf,” Yennefer spoke, turning her head to face the man. “You’re an elf.” 

Jaskier’s eyes widened and Yennefer knew that she was right. No one would have that kind of reaction to that accusation. He suddenly laughed. 

“Of course not! Elves are… dead,” he said. 

“No they aren’t and you know it,” she pointed an accusing finger. “You’re one of them who made it out of the Great Cleansing.” 

“What makes you think that, I, a mere bard, is an elf? It’s ridiculous,” he scoffed. 

How he had survived this long was beyond Yennefer. He was an atrocious liar. 

“I don’t see how I didn’t notice it before,” Yennefer continued, following Jaskier as he started off ahead of her, humming. “Those ruins up there are from an elf palace, they have a very distinct look that no human architects could dream of making. No one would know this was here except those who worked in the palace, but that wouldn’t make sense if you were human, would it?” 

“Closely guarded family secret passed on,” Jaskier made up, but Yennefer saw the way his step faltered and how he’d stopped humming. 

She stopped, crossing her arms. 

“And you haven’t aged a day since I met you. The glamour you have is not working very well if I noticed that.” 

Now Jaskier had stopped. 

He didn’t consider his next words before he uttered them, spinning on his heel and pointing a finger at her in offense. “My glamour is perfectly fine, thank you very much.” 

Well, shit. 

“So you admit it!” Yennefer grinned. “I’m right.” 

Jaskier, looking slightly horrified, turned back around and kept on walking without another word, angry that he exposed himself like that and feeling anxious because of how she could use this information. Meanwhile, Yennefer was basking in her victory. Gods, was she smart. 

But even so, she noticed the sudden change in his mood. He’d kept this secret for so long, and to have someone figure it out… it must have been terrifying. Yennefer looked back on her own childhood. If someone figured out she could do magic, she would have been ridiculed for a lot more than her looks. For how highly sorcerers and sorceresses were held, people were awful to those who had no real rank. 

She grimaced. Now she almost felt… bad. 

Jaskier came to a stop in front of her, looking up at the ceiling, considering something. 

“I can’t reach it, so I can’t open it,” he spoke lowly. “Can you portal us out of here?” 

“No, I’m too tired, now. I’ve used up too much Chaos” Yennefer said. “Besides, I think they were tracking me by my portals.” 

Jaskier hummed. “Well, we’ll stay here until you’ve recharged.” 

He sat on the ground, playing with some of the flowers. 

Yennefer cocked a brow. “Why don’t you just do it? You have a glamour, and considering how your lute is dry right now when the rest of you is not, you made it.” 

A beat of silence passed. 

“I can’t,” Jaskier confessed. “The glamour takes too much out of me to keep up, I can’t do… any magic really with it up.” 

“Take it off.” 

Jaskier scoffed. “I haven’t taken it off in front of someone else since I put it up, and I am certainly not going to let the first person who sees me without it be you.” 

Yennefer rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to tell anyone.” 

“Pity I don’t share that sentiment,” Jaskier told her, bitterly.

Yennefer took a deep breath. She wasn’t one for sharing, but she also didn’t want to stay in this cave any longer. “I’m part elf, if it makes you feel any better.” 

Jaskier’s head snapped to her. He didn’t like her, that fact hadn’t changed, but he took some comfort in knowing that fact. So, he dropped his glamour. Yennefer noticed immediately. His ears grew longer, pointed at the end and more round at the bottom. His eyes glowed, not as bright as the flowers, but subtle. She was amazed. 

“I’d never seen an elf before,” she said. 

“Glad I’m the first,” Jaskier mumbled, pushing himself off of the ground. 

Yennefer noticed how his demeanor changed. He moved more confidently, more sure of himself. Like a big weight was taken off of his shoulders. 

Before she could comment on it, Jaskier reached his hands up and blasted off the stone door. Yennefer looked towards him and held her foot up. Jaskier rolled his eyes, placing his hands out and boosting Yennefer through. She immediately turned and pulled him up, grunting as she did so. Before she could pull herself up off the ground, Jaskier murmured something in Elder, voice so low that Yennefer was amazed she’d heard it at all, and a grunt of pain came from behind her. 

One of the assassins was thrown back against a cracked pillar, falling to the ground, unconscious. Yennefer got to her feet, throwing her hands up in defense, already dreading using more of her Chaos. However, it seemed Jaskier had it handled. He threw another spell against the two remaining attackers, both of them falling to the ground from the force of their necks snapping. 

She didn’t think he had it in him. 

Seemed like she was wrong about a few things…


	2. And They Were Co-Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yennefer gets what she deserves. (Don't worry, its good.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all this is where we start to bridge from canon and into serious AU territory.

Jaskier supposed Yennefer was alright. He still wasn’t her biggest fan, but after running into her for the past few months, he supposed that she was alright. He’d saved her ass a couple of times, and she’d returned the favors. There was a plus as well, which was that she gave Jaskier some great fuel for songs. 

Let’s just say that they’d gotten used to each other, thanks to what he supposed was Destiny. 

So, here they were, traveling together on horseback (Jaskier decided that it was far past time for him to buy a horse), riding off to their next town where Jaskier would earn some coin for his songs and Yennefer would scam people with her magic tricks. Well, he supposed it wasn’t really scamming if it worked, but it was still extremely overpriced. 

Yennefer handed Jaskier his flask back after taking a sip of the ale he had taken from the last town. He took one himself before screwing the cap back on, placing it in the pouch on the side of his horse. 

“So, you never told me how you knew about that passage a few months back,” Yennefer spoke, glancing at Jaskier. 

“Oh, we’ve been traveling together for months, and you just bring this up now?” He joked. 

Yennefer rolled her eyes. “Just answer the damn question.” 

“What question?” 

“You’re gonna play that game? Fine, how did you know about that passageway under the palace.” 

Jaskier was silent for a moment and Yennefer wondered whether she had crossed a line—though she quickly dismissed the thought. They’d shared enough information over drinks to no longer be able to cross any lines. 

“I was friends with the prince and princess,” he confessed. “In fact, they were pretty much my only friends.” 

“What happened to them?” 

“The same thing that happened to most other elves,” he answered bitterly. “They were slaughtered.” 

“I’m sorry, Jaskier,” Yennefer told him, sincerity thick in her tone. 

He shrugged, pursing his lips. “Can’t do anything about it now.” 

Yennefer opened her mouth to speak, lips parting ever so slightly when she heard a cry off in the distance. Jaskier looked at her, puzzled. She placed a finger over her lips, shushing him, and jumped down from her horse. Jaskier followed in suit, still not knowing why she was being cautious. 

Then he heard it: a baby’s cry, loud and distressed. 

Yennefer took off after the wail, jumping down off the path and leaving Jaskier to tie up the horses hastily before running after her. She was with the baby when he arrived, placing his hands on his knees and panting. He needed to run more. 

“What fucking piece of shit parent would leave their child in the woods?” Yennefer spat, cradling the now-silent baby swaddled in a pink blanket. “To be lucky enough to have a child and then leave them for dead?” 

“Yenn,” Jaskier said, walking closer. “I don’t think they had a choice.” He reached his hand out and gently touched the child’s slightly pointed ears. “She’s an elf.” 

Yennefer grew silent. 

“What do we do with her?” Yennefer asked, looking up at Jaskier with desperate eyes. “You’re an elf. Tell me what to do.” 

She felt terrible for the little girl she held closely. She didn't want to make the wrong call but...

Jaskier inhaled sharply. “We keep her. Elves are in enough danger. It would be too hard to track down a suitable parent for her.” He gave Yennefer a shaky smile. “Besides, you wanted a child, didn’t you?”


End file.
